Production of crown caps for bottles and the like



1956 F. A. WARDER ETAL 3,236,085

PRODUCTION OF CROWN CAPS FOR BOTTLES AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 5, 1963 q El 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 ll i g Z59 I j 4 I 25 Q 4 1 I 4 H" a0 21 'l l I 2 if 7 \I 65 21 I I 64 26' II ll 70 I) o E Z 6659 66 Feb. 22, 1966 F, A. WARDER ETAL 3,236,085

PRODUCTION OF CROWN CAPS FOR BOTTLES AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 5, 1963 5 Sheets-Sheet Z Z5 59 79 4 5 1% 4/27 km 0/ I r F. ll Vfi L.) H1 40a 45 4/0 0 E g a 4 5 i 4 w -q J J Feb. 22, 1966 F, A. WARDER ETAL 3,236,085

PRODUCTION OF GROWN CAPS FOR BOTTLES AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 5, 196-3 5 Sheets-Sheet 4.

Feb. 22, 1966 WARDER ETAL 3,236,085

PRODUCTION OF CROWN CAPS FOR BOTTLES AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 5, 196-3 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 United States Patent 3,235,085 PRODUCTION OF CROWN CAPS FOR BOTTLES AND THE LIKE Frederick A. Warder and Selby P. Warder, Edenvale, Transvaal, Republic of South Africa, and Peter Amato, New Hyde Park, N.Y., assignors to National Can Corporation, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Filed Feb. 5, 1963, Ser. No. 256,394 Claims priority, application Republic of South Africa, Feb. 7, 1962, 62/533 18 Claims. (Cl. 72294) This invention relates to crown caps for bottles.

In an effort to provide a crown cap which may easily be removed by a person without the need for conventional bottle openers we developed a cap which is characterised by at least two tabs or tongues cut out of the annular skirt of the cap. The tabs are of inverted U-form and remain anchored to the skirt through the agency of narrow anchoring zones in the base of the skirt. The cap in question is located on a bottle in conventional manner and when the bottle is to be opened the tabs are removed by finger manipulation leaving at least two spaced inverted U-shaped spaces in the skirt. Removal of the tongues is effected by oscillating them about the anchorages until the anchorages break away from the body of the skirt. The cap is then bent upwardly by finger pressure about a line bisecting the spaces and is thereafter lifted on the bottle neck.

The indications are that the cap in question has great possibilities in commerce but the principal difiiculty is to produce it. Efforts have been made to form the tabs in the blanks before the blanks are subjected to a pressing operation designed to form the finished crown cap, but this method has proved unsatisfactory, at least in the knowledge of the applicants. It has also been suggested that the tabs or tongues be formed by an acid etching process but again the results have not been encouraging.

It is with crown caps of the kind described above that the invention is concerned and the principal object of the invention is to provide apparatus which will enable the caps to be produced on a mass scale without difliculty.

According to the invention apparatus for producing a crown cap of the kind in question includes means to hold the cap bowl towards a punching mechanism, a punching mechanism defining a shaped cutting lance for each tab and a body on which the lances are anchored or are adapted to be anchored in spaced relationship, and means for reciprocating the body and cap holder relative to one another in a direction substantially transverse the lie of the cap in the holder.

Preferably the leading tip of the body acts to nip the cap between itself and the base of the holder.

Further according to the invention a reciprocable ejector is axially located in the holder and is biased to an ejecting position.

Also according to the invention the punch body is made up of leading and trailing sections biased to a spaced position by suitable biasing means, movement of the body and holder towards one another acting initially to move the ejector into a position in which it is flush with or constitutes the base of the holder without substantially overcoming the biasing action of the body biasing means and finally to move the sections against the biasing action, the latter movement causing the lances to cut the tabs in the cap skirt.

The apparatus is also characterized by a sweeping device adapted to move transverse the movement of the lances to clear out caps ejected from the holder. In hand operated machines with slow output the sweeper may not be necessary but in high speed automatic equipment it is essential.

3,236,085 Patented Feb. 22, 1966 The sweeping device is also preferably a loading mechanism, the sweeping action being followed by the movement of an uncut cap towards the holder. A suitable loading mechanism is one in the nature of a disc-like turntable providing a series of spaced apertures each adapted to accommodate an uncut cap.

According also to the invention means is provided correctly to locate the caps under the punches. In one form of the invention the means takes the form of a serrated wall in close relationship to the peripheral wall of the turntable in the region immediately in advance of the holder. The serrations engage the upstanding ridges in the skirt of the cap and rotate the cap as it moves towards the holder.

Means is also provided in the preferred forms of the invention to return cut tabs into the general body of the cap skirt after they have been formed by the lances, and yet a further feature of the preferred examples is means to form radially disposed cuts in the top or base of the cap, each of which bisects the crest of a tab cut line in the skirt. These radially disposed cuts make it possible to remove caps from bottles with more case than is the case with caps having only the tongue formations.

While the example of the invention described below is for the purpose of forming caps with three equally spaced tongues, it will be appreciated that the same principles are involved no matter how many tongues may be required. The greater the number of lance holding slots in the punch body the greater the number of tongues which may be cut in the skirt. If three tongues are required then only three slots will be loaded with lances.

In order to illustrate the invention an example is described hereunder with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a device in accordance with the invention,

FIGURE 2 is a section on the line IIII of FIG- URE 3,

FIGURE 3 is a section on the line IIIIII of FIG- URE 2,

FIGURE 4 is a section on the line IV1V of FIG- URE 2,

FIGURES 5 to 8 are sections through the punching mechanism at various stages in the operation of the machine,

FIGURE 9 is a perspective view of the punching mechanism in exploded form,

FIGURE 10 is a perspective with parts broken away of a tab cutting lance and portion of the body on which it is anchored,

FIGURE 11 is a crown cap formed in the machine,

FIGURE 12 is the cap of FIGURE 11 on a bottle showing how it may be removed,

FIGURE 13 is a section with parts broken away on the line XIIL-XIII of FIGURE 5, and

FIGURE 14 is a section similar to thatof FIGURE 13 on the line XIVXIV of FIGURE 5.

In the machine of the example a cap of the kind shown in FIGURES 11 and 12 is to be produced. The cap is distinguished by three tabs or tongues 15 cut into the skirt 16 and having a U-shaped outer contour, the apices of the tabs being located at the periphery of the top 17 of the cap and radially directed cuts 18 bisect the apices. The tabs 15 will be seen to be equally spaced around the peripheral skirt '16 of the cap. A cap of the kind illustrated when fitted to a bottle may be removed without the aid of an opening device in the manner shown by the arrows in FIGURE 12. The tabs are bent about their anchorages in the base of skirt 16 in the direction of arrows '19 and are oscillated about the anchorages until a clean metal break is made. When this happens a gap complemental in shape to that of the tabs is made in the skirt. With two tabs removed an upward force in, the direction of arrow 20 will act to bend the section of the cap subtended between the two removed tabs about the radial cut lines 18. It is then a simple matter to lift the cap off the bottle top. 7

. Apparatus for producing the cap includes a stand 21 which supports a magazine or hopper 22 for uncut crown caps or tops, a holder 23 for tops about to be cut by a punching mechanism 24, a discharge 25 for out tops and a motor 26 for driving the device.

The holder 23 is shaped snugly to accommodate a crown cap, bowl up, and through the floor 27 of the holder an ejector 28 passes. The ejector is in the nature of a plunger, spring biased to the ejecting position shown in FIG- URE 3. In the example the top of the ejector acts as a support for a cap when in the ejecting position and as part of the floor of the holder when in the retracted position, i.e. the position shown in FIGURES 6, 7 and 8. Spring 29 acts as the biasing agent in the arrangement illustrated.

FIGURE shows the normal position of the device and in this position an uncut top 30 has been moved, bowl up, on to the top of the ejector 28. A cylindrical chamber is defined in a casing 31 for a punching mechanism 24 which includes a leading section 32 and a trailing section 33, the leading section including a forward formation 34 which engages in the bowl of the crown top 30. The two sections 32 and 33 are shaped to accommodate a biasing spring 35, and the anchorage for spring 35 in leading section 32 is such as to ensure movement of the sections relative to each other between a separated position as shown in FIGURES 5,6 and 8 and a closed position as shown in FIGURE 7. This is achieved by means of a coupling rod -36 which passes axially through the sections and which is anchored to the leading section 32 by pin 37 located in cross-cut passage 38 in the latter section. Passage 38 permits relative movement of the two sections as is shown in the figures, where it is seen that pin 37 is sometimes in engagement with the top of the passage 38 and sometimes in engagement with its base. The importance of this relative movement will become clear as the specification proceeds.

Between the base 34 of the leading section 32 of the punching mechanism and the holder 23 there is a space occupied by a turntable of disc-like appearance which is used for loading the holder with uncut crown caps and also for sweeping cut caps clear of the punching zone. The turntable is shown by the reference 39 and is mounted for rotation on a base plate 40 about turning axis 41. The holder 23, the casing 31, and the turntable are all anchored on the foundation member 42, the casing 31 being held in position by means of bolts or the like 43.

Turntable '39 is bounded at least in the region approaching the holder by a serrated side wall 44; and the side wall and an aperture 45 in the turntable act snugly to accommodate anuncut crown. As the turntable is rotated so the ridges 46 in the skirt 16 of the crown engage in the serrations and the crown is caused to rotate in the direction of arrow 47 as it moves towards the holder in the direction of arrow 48. By this means the correct location of the crown in the holder relative to the punching mechanism is obtained. When punching has been eflected the turntable takes the punched crown from under the punches and ultimately discharges it down chute 25. To aid discharge of cut caps the stationary base plate 40 may be cut off at 40a to ensure that the crown overbalances in the zone of the chute, or it may be bent downwardly.

Uncut crowns pass gravitationally down a track 49 leading from hopper 22 and into one of the apertures 45 in the turntable in the direction of arrow 50. This may be clearly seen in FIGURE 2.

The punching mechanism includes a lance 51 for each tab to be cut, the lances being accommodated in mating axial grooves 52 in the body sections 32 and 33, and each .lance, at its leading end, is provided with a shaped cutting edge 53. The lances are held in position in the punch by ring clip or clips 54. Vide FIGURE 9.

With a cap correctly located in the holder as shown in FIGURE '5 the punch mechanism may be moved downwardly in the direction of arrow 55. The first result is that the leading end of the section 32 is urged into the bowl of the crown and nips the base thereof between itself and the top of the ejector 28. Further downward movement then forces the ejector to the retracted position of FIGURE 6 and as yet the lance tips have not engaged with the skirt of the crown. FIGURE 7 shows the next step in which the lance tips have actually engaged and cut the tabs in the skirt, tab 15 being shown pushed outwardly from the general lie of the skirt but remaining anchored at the skirt base. At this stage the punching mechanism may be released to resume the normal position shown in FIGURE 5 but in the embodiment under consideration yet a further pressing action is necessary before the normal position is reached. This is shown in the arrangement of FIGURE '8.

It will be observed in FIGURE 7 that the tabs are displaced from the lie of the cap skirt 16. If left in this position there is a chance that the tabs will be broken off in transport and to obviate this possibility a press stud is provided for each tab. This stud is shown by reference 56 and its tip is shaped complementally to the shape of the skirt in the region which it engages. Spring 57 biases the stud into engagement with the cap in the FIG- URE 6 position, but when the lances are effecting the tab cuts the studs are pushed clear by plunger elements '58. Elements 58 press against tappets 58a which in turn press against suitable feet on the studs 56. It will be seen that the tappets 58a and the holder 23 are located in receptacles therefor in casing 31. By moving the plungers downwardly in sympathy with the punching sections 32 and '33 the studs move away from the crown 30 in the direction of arrow 59. By releasing the plunger the studs then move upwardly to re-engage the crown and the re-engagement takes place while the end 34 of section 32 is still engaging the bowl of the cap. The re-engagement of the studs with the skirt acts to push the outwardly projecting tabs back into the line of the skirt.

When the FIGURE 5 position has been reached the turntable is moved about its axis through 60 degrees (a) to clear the cut crown from under the punches and (b) to load an uncut crown into the holder. The faster the turntable is caused to rotate the faster may punched crowns be produced.

In FIGURE 4 a device is shown which assists in correctly aligning the turntable with respect to the punching mechanism with each 60 degree advance of the turntable. It consists of a metal ball 60 spring loaded into a chamber 61 located between base plate 40 and foundation 42. The ball seatingly engages sequentially in one of the orifices 62 in the turntable.

A synchronized action is, of course, absolutely essential and as the machine described is fully automatic a method of synchronizing the various operations will now be considered.

Reference 26 shows an electric motor which rotates a drive pulley 63 through gear box 64. Drive pulley 63 acts to rotate an agitator in the feed hopper 22 to ensure continuity of supply to the turntable 39. Pulley 63 is also fast with an arm 65 which is caused to rotate clockwise at the same speed as the pulley. With each revolution the arm successively engages a notch 66 in notched wheel 67 to move the latter wheel in 60 degree stages. Movement of the wheel is passed on to the turntable 39 through drive shaft 41. To prevent movement of the notched wheel beyond the required limit a spring biased roller 68 moves over the peripheral surface of the wheel 67 and engages in the mouth of a notch 66. Roller 68 is capable of riding over the notch when the turning force on the wheel is great enough. This occurs when the projection 69 on arm 65 engages a notch 66 in the wheel as shown in FIGURE 1.

When the turntable has been moved through a step of sixty degrees a cut crown will have been cleared away from under the lances and an uncut crown will have been located on the ejector top ready for treatment. The next act of the arm 65 is to advance a little further until the roller 70 fast therewith pushes the downwardly depending pivoted arm 71 to the right. Arrow 72 shows the direction of oscillation of this arm, being biased to the neutral or left hand side. By pushing the arm over to the right the punching mechanism is brought into operation by a press ram engaging the top 73 of coupling rod 36. It will be seen in FIGURE 9 that the rod has threaded on to it the sections 32 and 33 of the punching mechanism and a bored plate 74 which acts as a foundation for the plungers 58. A key 77 acts to align sections 32 and 33 of the punching mechanism and also, through a keyway cut into the walls of cylindrical mating chamber 78, ensures that the punching mechanism does not rotate in the bore or chamber 78 of casing 31.

A test machine strictly in accordance with that described has been found to operate smoothly and efliciently at moderately high output speeds. These outputs may be increased considerably by using more than one punching set linked, if necessary, to the same electric machine. For instance the open portion to the right of the top of stand 21 may be fitted with a punching mechanism and holder substantially as described and the same or a different hopper 22 may be employed to feed crowns to the second turntable. Both turntables and punching sets could be operated off the same pivoted lever arm 71.

It remains now to describe the mode of elfecting the radial cuts 18 in the top of the crown. The floor or base of the holder 27 has three radially located and spaced knives 75 fast therewith. When the base of the crown is forced on to the floor of the holder these knives 75 cut through the metal to leave the neat arrangement shown in FIGURES 11 and 12. Mating slots 76 are formed in the leading end 34 of punching body section 32 to facilitate the creation of cuts 18 and to ensure that the knives 75 are not damaged.

The top of the turntable 39 is closed by a plate 79 which is apertured beneath the punches to permit the required punching operation to be effected. Plate 79 is anchored to foundation 42 through spacer elements 80. Holes 62, apart from their association with ball 60, also provide passages for the movement of plungers 58.

Many more examples of the invention exist each differing from the other in matters of detail only. The cap made with the apparatus of the invention may be relied upon to give the required service with the normal type of bottled beverage.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for producing a crown cap having tabs including means to hold the cap presented towards a punching mechanism, a punching mechanism having a cutting lance for each tab and a body on which the lances are mounted in spaced relationship, means for reciprocating the body and cap holder relative to one another in a direction substantially transversely of the lie of the cap in the holder an amount sufiicient to cause the lances to cut the cap at spaced regions to form the tabs, an ejector, and a sweeping device adapted to move transversely of the line of movement of the lances to clear cut caps ejected from the holder.

2. The apparatus claimed in claim 1 in which the sweeping device is a turntable providing a series of spaced apertures each adapted to accommodate a cap.

3. The apparatus claimed in claim 1 in which the body has a leading tip that acts to nip the cap between itself and the base of the holder.

4. The apparatus claimed in claim 1 in which the ejector is reciprocable and is axially located in the holder and biased to an ejecting position.

5. The apparatus claimed in claim 4 in which the body is made up of leading and trailing sections biased to a spaced position by suitable biasing means, movement of the body and holder towards one another acting initially to move the ejector into a position in which it constitutes at least part of the base of the holder without substantially overcoming the biasing action of the body biasing means and finally to move the sections against the biasing action, the latter movement causing the lances to cut the tabs in the cap skirt.

6. Apparatus for producing a crown cap having tabs, said apparatus including means to hold the cap, a punching mechanism having a cutting lance for each tab and a body on which the lances are mounted in spaced relations'hip, a reciprocable ejector axially located in the holder and biased to an ejecting position, said body having a leading tip that acts to nip the cap between itself and the base of the holder, said body furthermore having leading and trailing sections, means for biasing the sections to a spaced position, means for moving the body and cap holder toward one another and in a direction substantially transversely of the lie of the cap initially to move the ejector into a position in which it constitutes at least part of the base of the holder without substantially overcoming the biasing action of the body biasing means and finally to move the sections against the biasing action, the latter movement causing the lances to cut the tabs in the cap, a turntable, and means to rotate the turntable transversely of the line of movement of the lances to clear cut caps ejected from the holder and to move uncut caps toward the holder, said turntable having spaced apertures each adapted to accommodate a cap, a serrated stationary side wall in close relationship to the periphery of the turntable at least in the region leading toward the lances, the arrangement being one in which ridges in the cap engage the serrations to cause rotation of the cap as it moves toward the holder.

7. The apparatus claimed in claim 6 in which the turntable and lances are synchronized for automatic operation.

8. The apparatus claimed in claim 6 in which means is associated with the holder for returning cut tabs into the general body of the cap on retraction of the lances.

9. The apparatus claimed in claim 8 in which the means for returning the tabs are studs having shaped cap engaging tips, the studs being retracted from engagement with the cap on advance of the lances.

10. The apparatus claimed in claim 9 in which retraction of the studs is effected by plunger means associated with the punch body, the plunger means acting to overcome biasing means biasing the studs to an extended position.

11. The apparatus claimed in claim 10 in which the said studs are maintained in retracted position until the said body sections are permitted to re-separate, thereby to prevent engagement of the lances and the studs.

12. The apparatus claimed in claim 6 including knifelike formations adapted to form zones of weakness in the cap.

13. The apparatus claimed in claim 12 in which the formations are fast with the holder.

14. Apparatus for producing a crown cap having tabs including means to hold the cap bowl towards a punching mechanism, a punching mechanism having a cutting lance for each tab and a body on which the lances are mounted in spaced relationship, knife-like formations fast with the holding means for the purpose of forming radial cuts in the cap bisecting the tab cuts in the cap skirt, and means for reciprocating the body and cap holder relative to one another in a direction substantially transverse the lie of the cap in the holder.

each other to cause the tool means to engage the cap.

in such manner as to form the tabs with at least part of each tab being in the skirt of the cap, and means for forming a generally linear region of weakness in the cap that extends from one of the tabs and lies in the crown of the cap.

16. Apparatus for producing crown caps, said apparatus comprising means for supporting the cap, mechanism having tool means for cutting the cap to form tabs therein, means for moving the cap support and mechanism relative to each other to cause the tool means to cut the cap, and knife-like means associated with the holding means for forming at least one generally linear region of weakness extending substantially from adjacent to each tab.

17. Apparatus for producing a crown cap having tabs, said apparatus having means for holding the cap, a punching mechanism having a cutting lance for each tab and a body on which the tabs are mounted in spaced relationship, means for moving the body and cap holder relative to one another to cause the lances to cut the cap at spaced regions to form tabs that project away from the body of the cap, and means for returning the cut tabs substantially into the body of the cap upon retraction of the lances from the cap.

18. Apparatus for producing a crown cap having tabs, said apparatus including means to hold the cap, a punching mechanism having a cutting lance for each tab and a body on which the lances are mounted in spaced relationship, a reciprocable ejector axially located in the holder and biased to an ejecting position, means for moving the body and cap holder toward one another and in a direction substantially transversely of the lie of the cap initially to move the ejector into a position in which it constitutes at least part of the base of the holder and finally to move the body an amount suflicient to cause the lances to cut the tabs in the cap, a turntable, and means to rotate the turntable transversely of the line of movement of the lances to clear cut caps ejected from the holder and to move uncut caps toward the holder.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,899,210 2/1933 Ramsay 113-121 2,363,815 11/1944 Stone 113-121 CHARLES W. LANHAM, Primary Examiner. 

1. APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING A CROWN CAP HAVING TABS INCLUDING MEANS TO HOLD THE CAP PRESENTED TOWARDS A PUNCHING MECHANISM, A PUNCHING MECHANISM HAVING A CUTTING LANCE FOR EACH TAB AND A BODY ON WHICH THE LANCES ARE MOUNTED IN SPACED RELATIONSHIP, MEANS FOR RECIPROCATING THE BODY AND CAP HOLDER RELATIVE TO ONE ANOTHER IN A DIRECTION SUBSTANTIALLY TRANSVERSELY OF THE LIE OF THE 